1. Technical Field
This invention relates to tool guides and, more particularly, to a guide assembly for power tools for assisting a user to make accurate cuts easily and quickly when employing power saws and like power tools.
2. Prior Art
Archeological evidence proves that man was using tools at least four million years ago. For thousands of years, their development continued at a steady pace, as better materials and innovations slowly transformed the devices we use to shape the world. After World War II, a new tool market sprang up in the form of homeowners and do-it-yourselfers who wanted to save money by tackling repairs and building projects themselves. This meant creating portable power tools and scaled-down machines that were lighter, easier to use, and more affordable than their industrial-strength predecessors.
Power tools from the 1940s and '50s are some of the most exciting ever created. Especially pleasing to the eye, most were constructed with aluminum bodies, which reflected the styling of the day. Jigsaws and drills often had streamlined, bullet-shaped bodies, which looked like they were developed in a wind tunnel. But, by far, the greatest improvements to power tools were made in comparatively recent power tools.
The best power tools are precision-engineered devices capable of performing their cutting, boring, drilling, sanding, sawing and planking tasks remarkably well. But power tools and the accessories, jigs, and gizmos that go with them are noteworthy objects in and of themselves, symbols of sophisticated building technology and practice. Obviously, it would be advantageous to provide a means for assisting in the precision use of circular saws, jig saws, rotary tools and the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,116,304 to Wilson discloses a power tool guide system that includes a base plate and at least one stanchion assembly mounted on the base plate. The system also includes a guide assembly mounted on the stanchion assembly for slidably receiving a power tool thereon above base plate. Unfortunately, this prior art example does not provide a means for attaching the system to a preexisting workbench.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,725,558 to Gommper discloses an adjustable portable power tool guide having a base plate, a base plate cutting edge to define a cut line, an adjustable tool guide rail for guiding a portable power tool cutter adjacent to the cutting edge, and an adjustable control bar that defines a reliable and predetermined angle between the cutting edge and the control bar. Unfortunately, this prior art example does not provide a means for attaching the system to a preexisting workbench.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,489,634 to Volk discloses a table for supporting and guiding diverse portable power tools with precision and safety. In one mode of use with a sabre saw, adjustable guide rails for the saw have free-floating engagement with locator posts on the table and rest directly on the workpiece which is being cut. The guide rails at one end can be raised or lowered for precise leveling and locked in the chosen position. Very smooth cutting by the sabre saw is enabled without chattering of the work piece. In another form of the table there is a second mode of use with a circular saw or router, and the guide rails are supported at a fixed height atop the locator posts and above the top surface of the work piece resting on the table. A work piece protractor guide on the table enables various cutting angles. Precision cutting of cove molding by a sabre or circular saw is possible by proper angular adjustment of the protractor guide and saw blade. The sabre saw can also be used in a ripping mode across the guide rails when the latter are supported at a fixed height atop the locator posts. Unfortunately, this prior art example does not provide a means for attaching the system to a preexisting workbench.
Accordingly, the present invention is disclosed in order to overcome the above noted shortcomings. The present invention satisfies such a need by providing an apparatus that is simple and easy to use, lightweight yet durable in design, and designed for assisting a user to make accurate cuts easily and quickly when employing power saws and like power tools. The guide assembly for power tools provides a user a simple means for ensuring precise operation of various types of power tools. The present invention is simple to use, inexpensive, and designed for many years of repeated use.